Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,400,000 shares, an increase of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 4,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hasbro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Hasbro by 27.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Hasbro by 2.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 7,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Hasbro by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 14,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Hasbro by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Hasbro by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $88.00) on shares of Hasbro in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hasbro from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Hasbro from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Hasbro from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.22.

Hasbro Price Performance

Hasbro stock opened at $60.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.51. Hasbro has a 52-week low of $53.91 and a 52-week high of $73.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Hasbro had a return on equity of 47.93% and a net margin of 9.32%. On average, equities analysts predict that Hasbro will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Hasbro’s payout ratio is 101.82%.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a toy and game company in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The company operates through Consumer Products; Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming; Entertainment; and Corporate and Other segments.